Boston Red Sox Fort Myers

Fort Myers is in southwestern Florida, far away from the madding crowds of Tampa or Orlando. In fact, it's 125 miles up the coast to Tampa/St. Pete and slightly less than that to Bradenton (spring-training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates) or Sarasota (spring-training home of the Cincinnati Reds), so you're quite a ways down the coast. The Texas Rangers formerly trained in nearby Port Charlotte, but the team moved to new facilities in spring 2003.

Indeed, it's the relative isolation and scenic lakeshore stressed by the tourism types. It's a tropical area, with relatively unspoiled beaches on the Gulf Coast.

Sanibel and Captiva Islands are known for their long expanses of white beaches and mangrove forests, with many biking and hiking trails. Over half of the islands are preserved as wildlife sanctuaries.

Fort Myers is also known as the former winter home of both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Their estates are preserved and available for viewing.

You should also make a pilgrimage to Terry Park Stadium, which is possibly the oldest surviving spring-training stadium in Florida. It's just east of Fort Myers and still heavily used by amateur teams. Lee County Parks and Recreation Director John Yarbrough wants to spruce up the 77-year-old structure in a historically authentic fashion and put a museum in the old ticket office illustrating the history of spring training in Southwest Florida and its impact on the area’s development and character. It hasn’t been used for major league spring training since 1987 (when the Kansas City Royals trained in Fort Myers); it was built originally as the spring-training home of the Philadelphia Athletics, owned and managed by Connie Mack.

The city is one of two major cities that make up the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA, the other being Cape Coral. As of July 1, 2005, the population estimate for the metropolitan area was 544,758.

Established in 1886, Fort Myers is the historical and governmental hub of Lee County. It is the gateway to the Southwest Florida region, which is a major tourist destination in Florida, as well as being a popular place to live for retirees. The winter homes of Thomas Edison (Seminole Lodge) and Henry Ford (The Mangoes), which are both primary tourist attractions in the region, are located on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers.

On August 13, 2004, Fort Myers was hit hard by Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall north of the area. In 2005, Hurricane Wilma struck south of Naples, but caused extensive damage nonetheless in Fort Myers and its southern suburbs.

Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is located southeast of the city in South Fort Myers, near Gateway and Lehigh Acres.